History Repeats Itself
by Chaot1kShadow5
Summary: The Vex can assimilate planets - so what's to stop them from assimilating Guardians? A Destiny oneshot, rated T to be safe.


**History Repeats Itself – A Destiny Fanfic**

 _…_

 _…_

 _Light? Light, yes, that's what he needed to find._

 _He – it? I? No, I – need to find a Light; not just any Light, but a strong Light, a particular Light, but I can't remember what it was. It was little, but it was mine – or at least it used to be. Wasn't it still mine? But I didn't have a Light… did I?_

 _Thinking like this hurt. I don't know why, but I feel like something else, something massive, is choosing my actions and thoughts for me, and it hurt to resist._

 _The Light, yes, think of the Light – I need to find it, and… what was it? Maybe checking this- ah! That's it; I need to deliver this to- the Light. I can't remember why I have to, nor why I care, but all I could think of was how this thing controlling me is massive and whispering in my ear and roaring and roaring and-_

 _…_

 _There's a Light. I feel like that was pointed out to me by something that wasn't the massive thing, but somehow I know that's what I'm after._

 _Something within the massive thing feels offended that I don't believe my instincts._

 _Çǫ̴͝ḿ̶̷̢̡p̵̷̡ĺ͘͏e͡҉t҉̸̛͝è̷̡͘ ́̕͟y͟ò̸́u̧͡r͜҉̕͢͠ ̸͞͝͠d̸̵̀͜i̛͞ŕ̨͞͠è̵̕ç̷̀t̨̛͝i̶͠v̡̢̡̀͞e̸͏̛̕͡.̷̴̧̛_

 _Yes, the directive, complete the dire-… What?_

 _F̨í̴͟͡n̵̵d̶͜͜͡ ̸́͟t̵̵̢́h̷͝͞e̸̸͜͡ ͏̨̧͘L̵̡į̴́g̴̢̕͞͡h̴̢̕͝t̨̡͟.̨̡̧̀ ̛͏I̶̕͡n͠f̴̢͘e͠c̵̸̶ţ̸ ͏̶i̷͠t̡́́͟.͢͡͝͏ ̶͝Ó̴p̡̛͘e̷̢̨̛ǹ̵̕ ҉̵t̴̨̕͢͡h͞e̸̸͘͢͞ ̶̕͜L̷̸͟͞i͡͝͝͞v̷i̷̸̡̢̕n͟͠g̀̕ ͟͢C̴̶͢͡o͠ņ̸̛́f̶̛͏l̸͢u̷̢x͘͞.̵̴́͜͝_

 _Yes, right, whatever that is. The Light… it's busy. Flickering and whipping around, orbiting something… is that Light really-_

 _C̶̨͠҉o̸̵̢̕ḿ̛͟͟͠ṕ͡҉͢ĺ͡͝͏e͡͞t̨e͟͏͘҉.̧ ̵̡̕Y̷̢̢̛͡o̵̢͡͝ư̴r̸̵.̷͢͝͏́ ̵̷̡͞D̷̀͘҉i͞҉̴r̷̢͜͏e̶̷c̀̀t̢҉̢͟͞i̸̧v̸̡̡̛̕ę̛.̢͜_

 _Ok, ok, got it. So… I walk up to the Light and give this thing to it?_

 ** _Basically, yes._**

 _I have no idea where that voice came from. I'm going to- its host is shooting at me. I'm coming undone._

 ** _Keep going, you just have to_** _Çǫ̴͝ḿ̶̷̢̡p̵̷̡ĺ͘͏e͡҉t҉̸̛͝è̷̡͘ ́̕͟y͟ò̸́u̧͡r͜҉̕͢͠ ̸͞͝͠d̸̵̀͜i̛͞ŕ̨͞͠è̵̕ç̷̀t̨̛͝i̶͠v̡̢̡̀͞e̸͏̛̕͡.̷̴̧̛ **keep going, you've almost done it just a lit-**_

 _…_

 _I've collapsed, I'm too badly damaged, I can't do this I'm sorry, I can't I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm-_

 ** _No, look. The Light has seen it. It's going to pick it up, see? You've done-_** _D̢̀͜i̵̷̶͠r̴͘͢͝e͏̷̵c̷̸̢̛t͏̨҉̨͠i̸̢͠͡v̧̧̀̕͏è ͡c̵̸͝ờ̸̛m̸͘p̀͢͜l̶̴̨̕͡e̵͝t̴̢̨̛͜e̷̵d̷̶̶̡͡.̧ **-it.**_

 _Ah, fuck, finally. Can I go now? Wait… I could go? Who are you, anyway?_

 _S̵̵̴̀̀c̶͠͠͞a̕ņ̷͘͡ǹ̨̢̡i̷̸͝͝n̨͘͞҉̧g̶̴͢͟͟ ̵̢͡͝U̸͏̴҉ń͝í̢́͞t҉͘͢͡ ̸̴̢̀A̶̛͘̕͘-̶͡͝͠G̀̀͜-̢͢0͟͟0̷́0̀͜0͘͟1̷̀͜͢͟.̶̨.̶̕͠.̴́͝ ̷̶̶̕S̶̢̡c̶̛͢a̡̢ņ̢͜n͡͞i̶͠͡͏n̷̢g̸̨̡̢.̴͘.̧͠.͢͞͝ ̡҉É̷̸̷͢r͟҉҉r̀ǫr̛̀̕̕:̧̢ ̧̛͟͏D̷̀͡a̧҉̵͜m̢͘a̸͠͝g̶̸̢̀͘e̶̡͘͞ ̨̡̛t̕͏͘ờ ̕͝U͜͜ń̸̨҉͏í́͟͝t̸̛͢ ̸̨̛̕M̴̨̕̕͜a͏͘͏͢í̶n̷̵̸͘f҉̵̡̨͝r͏҉̨̕á̕m̵̵͜͞e̛̕ ̸͞͞é͞x̶̵̡̀̕ç̨̧̕͢è͘͘e͏̸̨͢d̴̀͘ì̴̢̛n҉҉͘ǵ̢͜͡ ́̀7̴͝5̶̶̕҉̨%̴.̵̵̨͢ ͜͟͝҉D̷͢á҉m̶͜ą̕͠҉̶g͏͘͠͞͞ȩd̛͢͡ ̨͜͝c̵̡̛͜o͟ḿ̢p̸o̴̷̧͝n̨̢̢͟e̢͞n͠͝t̡ś̛̀:̢̡̧͝ ̸̀̕͢͏M̢͜͝á̡i̸͜͝͠ǹ̶͞͞f̷̢̕͢҉r̡͜à̷̸̵͘m͘͟ę͠ ҉͡͞s̶t̴̷̛̛̛ŕ҉̨́͡u̴̴ç̨͝t̀́u̸͠͝r̴̴e̸͘͟,̨̛͝͡͝ ̧̀̀È̴̸̛́ń͘è̸͘r̨̕g̷y͜-҉̷̀҉p̀͢͜͟͠r҉͘o̵̢͢͝͞j̷̛̕͞e̛͏͠c҉̶̢͘t̡̢-̧́͘͠͡  
̴̢  
̕͝͝.҉̧.̸͜͡͞͡.͝͞  
̡͞  
̨̢͝͞Ę͘ŗ̧r̶͜͢͜͠o̶͟r̵͏̨̕:̸́͏͜͡ ͜͞U͏҉̸n̨͢i̴̷̕͜͠t͜͞͠ ̧̨́͘À̡͟͡-̕͟͜G͞͏҉̨-̴͢͏0̀͞0̢̨̛͘0̵0̶̀͜1̨ ́̕m̶̶í͘n̡͘͜͠͝d̷̛͜c̵̡͠o͘͡͞ŕ̵̸̡͝ę̨̀͢ ͏̶ḩ̀͟͞͞a̢͏̸̨͡s̢͞ ͢͜b̢͢͜ȩ̷̧́e̡̧̧͝n̡̕ ̷̢͝͡ç̷͠ǫ̶͜m̨̕͠͡͏p̴̨r҉̶o̵̕m̴̨̨̡i͜͝s̸̡̨͠è̶̸̢̕d̛͟.̶̵̛͘ ͘Ù́n͢i͟҉̡͝t͏̡ ́͠͞͝À̴̵̧͘-̛̀҉͜͟G̛͜-͏̀0͠0̷̡̧͡͡0͢0̶́́͢͠1҉ ̴̀͟͢t̸́̀ȩ̢̡̢͜m̧̧̨p͏̷o̶̴r̵͘a͝͡҉̴͠l̵ ̸̨r̴̷̢͜҉è̴͜͢f̨͘͟o̵r̕͢͡͝m̵̶͟͝ą̨͜t҉͟͢͝t͏̴͟͝i̷̛͢͠ǹ̵g̛̀͢͞͡ ̢҉́͠a̶̢͢u̴̢͠t̴̡̀͢͟ḩ̶͢͠o̧̕͘͜ŕ̸i̛͢͡͝͞s҉̵҉e̴̛ḑ͡͏.̸̛͟͞_

 _No, wait, please don't, I'm sca- **Shh, shh, it's okay, I'll-**_

 _U҉n͜i̷̸͘t̛́͟ ̡̛r̡͜ę̴̷̶͏f͘͜͡͡o̴̡͘̕r͠҉̨̨m̢͟͜a̕͝t̢͟͞t̴i̶͡͏ǹ̶g̀͞.̵͘.̵.̶̴̵̡͘_

 _̨̯̮̼̜͓̱̭̅̐̔_

 _̜̫͕̠̩̹̮̟̒ͣͤ U҉n͜i̷̸͘t̛́͟ ̡̛r̡͜ę̴̷̶͏f͘͜͡͡o̴̡͘̕r͠҉̨̨m̢͟͜a̕͝t̢͟͞t̴i̶͡͏ǹ̶g̀͞.̵͘.̵.̶̴̵̡͘_

 _̼̥͂ͭ̉͘͢_

 _͚͈͒ͩͩ̂͘̕ U҉n͜i̷̸͘t̛́͟ ̡̛r̡͜ę̴̷̶͏f͘͜͡͡o̴̡͘̕r͠҉̨̨m̢͟͜a̕͝t̢͟͞t̴i̶͡͏ǹ̶g̀͞.̵͘.̵.̶̴̵̡͘_

 _T̷̶̴̡͞e̵̡͠m̸̨͢͠p҉̛o̢̧ŗ̶̧a̷͞͡ļ́͏̡ ̴̧͜͝ŗ̛̕è̷̀͘͢f̴̕ò͟҉҉r̸̢͡ḿ̶̢͝ą̴̸͘͟t̷͡t̨͏̵̀͞í̕͢ǹ͢͜g̵̷̸͢ ̴̧̡̕͝o̢͘f̴̢ ̴̵͢͡͠U̸̴̢̡n̷̢i̶̛͘͠t̵̢ ́͠A̶̛̕͡͡-̴͞͝͝͞G͝͠҉͏̷-̴̧̀0̴͏̨҉0̷̴0̛͜͟͠0̛̀͝1̵̶͜͡ ̸̨͢͠c̸̵̕͢ò̷̸͝m͘͢p̴̛͜l̸̷͘͘͠e̢͟͏t̛҉͘͟ę̵̸͞.̵ ̴̢̀Ą̧̧͘ş̵̨̀͏s̴̛͠҉i̶҉҉̵ǵ̨̡́n̵̶̶̡i̷̡͞ń͢͜͠g̕͏̴̛͟ ̧͟d̨̢͜͠͞i̡͞҉ŗ̵͜͠͞e̵̢̡̕҉ç̸͟ţ̶͠í҉v́҉̴e̴̷͝:́͏͝ ̨͘F̶̛͜҉ì͟ņ̸̵͟͜d҉͟ ̛͘̕ţ̢͝h̡͠é̶̢͝͡ ̢̡͏̵͞L̛͘͘͟͟i͡g̷̢̡̡h̸͜͏҉t̕̕.̶̢̢́ ̶̡Į̷͘͜n̴͞f̸͘͜è͢͝ç̢͘͏̸t̷́͠͡ ̛͘͝í̶̢̕͢t̷̷̷̛͟.́̀ ̕͢O͘͡p̀͞é͠n҉̧̀͜ ͞t҉̢͟͟͝ḩ̴͢è̷̷͢͟ ̶҉͝͞L̨̀͞i̵̛̕͝͠v̶̛̕͟͠ì̵̀͜͝ǹ̸͡ģ̸̨ ̡҉͘C̶̡̛̀͟ó̸̧̀͠n̛͘͠f̵̨̨́̀l̕͘͢͡u҉́x͏̷̛̕̕.̨̡͝͡  
҉  
҉̷͡͏.҉̀҉͞.̨̕.̨́͠͝͠  
̢͡  
̵͢W̴̸̢̕͟a̷̧̕͝ŗ̨̢̛̛n̷͝i̶͝ņ͝҉g̛͢:́͡͡ ́͢͡U̡͟n̶͡҉҉k̶̕͝n̸̨͡͠o͡͏̷̧́w̴̡̧̛̕n̷͘͠ ̢́͏C̵̢͜͟ò̕͡ņ̶̢͟͞s̵̨̨͟͢t͘͡r҉͏̴͘̕u҉͘͢͟͡c̵͟t́̕͟ ̴̕a̷͜͟t̢̧́͢͢t̸̛́̕ȩ̷̵̵̕m̷̕p̸̡̛̀҉t̸̨i͏͡n̶̶ģ̴̛̛͢ ̵̡́͟t͞͡o̵ ̵̸͟͢͝c̢o̷͝u̵͘͡n͏̢͝͠͞t̢̡̛̕e̶͠r̸̢̨҉̸á̧́̕͠c̨̧t̕͏̴͝ ̷͜C̴̢̛͢͠o͠ĺ̸̶̡͜l̶̴͝e͢͢͢͡c͜͟ţ̶̛̕i̴̧v̷́ę̶̡ ̧́͝M̧̀͝i̡̕͝n̵̨͏̴̶d̢̢͞͝ ̀͠͡ḑ̢͢͞i̴̛r̴̢̧͢͝è̴́͠c̷̛͠t̨̛i̡̨͟v̶̡͜͞͞e͟͜͡.̴̵͢͢͞ ҉́͢͝E͞͞ņ̶͠g͜͝à̀͜͠g͢-̢̛̕͞͠  
̡̕  
̵̢.̷̵́҉͠.҉͢͠.̧͜͜͞  
̴̸̨̡҉  
͟͝͞Ù̡p̴̷d̴̨͘͢a̛͘t̢́҉҉i͏̀͜n̷̷͝g̴̢̡̡͢ ̵̀̕͘͜d̶͠͏̢͏i̶͘͘r̵͢͟ę̀͘̕c̷̸̢̀t̴̢͡í̢͝v̸̶̢è̴̡̧:̡̡́͟͝ ̕F̨͘͏́i͏̕n̷̡͠d͜͞҉̸ ̷̡́͘͞t͟͟͢͞h̸̵e̸̷̢ ͏̷́͡L̴í̕͘͠͏g̶͢ḩ͢͏t͘̕.́͜͜ ͠҉͟҉I̶̵̧͠͠ń̸f̸̵͝e̸̶c̢͟t̀͟͝ ̧̀͢͝í̛́́҉t̸̡́͘͡.̸̡̢͜ ̴̧̛͢O̷̡͟͡p̶e̸̷͘n͞ ̸̡̨(͘͢P̷҉r̴̴͘͟͜ȩ͝͠v̶͞e̵͟͏̶͜ń̸̛͝t̡́͠҉)͠͡ ̵̛͠t̨̛̀h̸͟e̸̡ ̸͡L҉̛͟͝į͘v̧̀͞͝i̷̵͘̕͝n͟͞g̸̡̧͞͠ ̛͏͜C̶҉̕͡o̶͘͡ǹ̴̨͢͟f̶̧͟͝ĺ͝u̕͟͜͡x̷̢̕͜͢ ̷̡(̛͜҉̷f̢͞ŗ̸͜͞o̵͜͟͢͠m̷̧̕͜͠ ̴̷̶̛ó̕͠ṕe̡͜͞n̨͟ì̴̢̛̕n̛̕g̵̶͟)͏͘.͏͟_

 _…_

 _…_

 _Light? Light, yes, that's what he needed to find._

* * *

Atheon roared, fireteam Attica was encroached by Vex from all sides, and it was in that moment that Sephonis decided he was in very dire need of a very strong drink.

He willed the Light within him to pour into his blade, and coated in arc energy fell upon the group of Goblins attempting to flank a timegate whilst Kareneth-26 deployed a Ward of Dawn on top of the timegate's syncpad. Couching and bringing her machine gun to bear, she seemed eager to open fire on any poor bronze-headed sod that decided attacking Attica's resident juggernaut head on was a sensible idea. At the other end of the cavern, Al-Jhada drew the speedy little bastards that exploded when close away, throwing solar grenade after solar grenade in their path to herd them into kill-zones that she formed on the fly.

It suddenly occurred to Sephonis that he was only noting these things because the Goblins were already dead, and he had just wasted his arc blade standing like an idiot in arguably the most dangerous hellhole on this end of the Solar System. He _really_ needed to stop spacing out like that.

Grabbing his hand cannon – a massive brute he had affectionately named "The Devil You Know" – he scanned the area near the spire for any approaching Vex, when an unusual sight met him from the opening of a tunnel; a yellow glow. _Not one of those glowing orbs, not one of those glowing piss-jars, so… what is that?"_ Stepping forward for a better look, he adjusted the filters in his Knucklehead Radar to enhance its low-light visibility and-

 _"…What kind of Vex is that?"_

"Vântoase, scan that… thing." Materializing in a cloud of glowing particles, Sephonis' Ghost brushed its gaze across the Vex unit with a practiced calm that seemed inappropriate for such a dire situation and paused, floating in the air. Sephonis himself took in the Vex's form – bronze chassis, like the other Vault-based Vex, but with a distinctly human torso with similarly discernible arms and legs. A new Vex… what was the word? Ah, yes, permutation.

He heard the fireteam Attica had been paired with emerge from the timegate, and was about to put the Vex out of his mind and join them before Vântoase turned to face him.

"I don't know" the reedy voice began. "It's… definitely not something that any Guardian has seen outside the Vault, and there was no mention of it in the Ishtar Archives' records dredged up a few weeks back." Its back half rotated in the way only Ghosts did – a nervous tic, Sephonis would wager – and it continued. "It's giving off emissions uncharacteristic of known Vex units, I'm detecting a unified, _isolated_ construct in- _look out!_ "

Sephonis whipped around, and then leapt back as the machine swiped at him, yellow light in the palm of its hand. Reprimanding himself for forgetting Damin's lesson to never let prey escape your attention, he raised 'The Devil You Know' and emptied the cartridge into its chassis, tossing a flux grenade at its falling form for good measure. Explosions and gunshots, and Atheon roaring – his teammates were killing it, he needed to hurry up before they did and he had to bear the brunt of Holliday's wrath for his hunter buddy's ship being destroyed in an ill-fated stunt because _he just couldn't pass up a wager like bringing back the head of a Vex god and-_

He paused. The yellow light had fallen from the Vex's broken hand, stopping a metre or two away from the remains.

For a moment – just a moment – he considered ignoring it and instead going to help kill Atheon. When that passed, he contemplated grabbing it, killing Atheon, and then giving it to Al-Jhada for study with the Cryptarchs because she was a warlock, warlocks loved boring stuff like this didn't they?

And then, fleetingly, he considered pocketing it and showing it to his friends, claiming that it was a part of Atheon that had conveniently wound up at his feet after it blew up, which he would have to do now that Atheon had just died because he could hear his fireteam cheering. Dropping to the ground, he had enough time to grab it before the familiar rush of being sent through a time-stream flowed through him and-

…

Fireteams Attica and Sioux stood outside the Vault of Glass, in front of a pile of weapons and armor and _is that a bloody ship_ that hadn't been there before.

Sephonis stood still for a few moments whilst Kareneth-26 and Sioux's warlock approached the pile of gear, and suddenly had the urge to check if that light was still there; they'd lost stuff in the time-stream while fighting Atheon – namely his prized fusion rifle, which took him _bloody forever to get a hold of in the first place_. He needed to make sure he still had it.

He raised his hand, and was greeted with a glowing yellow… square thing.

"What're you looking at?"

Sephonis whipped around, taking a step back from Al-Jhada who he noticed had removed her helmet and – he couldn't believe he had actually done it – hid his hand and the orb in it behind his back like some child caught stealing a cookie. "Uh, nothing! Just something I found in the Vault, nothing fancy that you'd be… interested in…" He knew it was useless at this point.

When Al-Jhada saw something that piqued her interest, nothing would curb it save actually inspecting the catalyst of her obsession.

"Nope, saw that thing. You can't fool me, now give it." She raised her hand, eyebrows raised over her heterochromatic eyes in an expectant gaze. "You don't think I won't pester you over the comms on our way back to the Tower if you keep it?"

Sighing, he brought out the orb and handed it over to her, watching anxiously as she turned it over a few times and raising it to her eyes, inspecting it closely. She turned to her Ghost and had it start analysing the orb, then locked a grim gaze with his.

"Sephonis, you know what sort of shit we found in the Vault, and I know you want some Vex head or something to show your friends" She started; her tone wasn't unlike a parent explaining to their child why stealing was bad. "But we have to assume anything in there is too dangerous to be left lying around; we need to take this to the Vanguard and turn it in to them."

That just wouldn't do. "Al! I need this! Look, I'll do that; just let my ghost run a diagnostic on it so I can show _something_ to my buddy!"

A few palpable beats passed, punctuated by the _clacking_ of guns and armor being dropped and passed around between Sioux and Kareneth. _"Please don't be pissed Al, please don't be pissed, please don't be pissed-"_

She rolled her eyes, brushing her hand through what little black hair she had as she handed the orb back to him. "Fine."

Sephonis stopped, mouth hanging. "What? You're just- _what!?_ "

"Yes, Sephonis, I'm giving this back, but only because I know how important winning a wager is to you. Just hurry up, we don't have long and I shouldn't be doing this anyway."

He snatched it from her immediately, offhandedly throwing thanks behind him before running off to a secluded spot. Without breaking his sprint, he summoned Vântoase, keeping his gaze locked ahead. "Vântoase, you heard the boss, we need to be quick-smart about this."

They turned a corner, stopping beside a ruined timegate. "Got it. Let me see it."

Sephonis set the orb on a mostly-level chunk of Vex material, leaving Vântoase to probe it more thoroughly – an excuse to practice some card tricks with a deck he'd found in the City. A minute passed before an alert beeped in the top-left of his HUD; he was being called back. What was taking his ghost so long?

"Vântoase, you good? What's the hold-"

He heard electronic sputtering, and it sounded suspiciously like it was coming from his ghost. "What's wrong? Vex actually putting up a fight or-"

Vântoase was shaking, sputtering, and glowing particles shaped alarmingly like Vex were moving across and burrowing into its shell.

A rush of panic Sephonis hadn't felt since a Wizard nearly destroyed Kareneth's ghost that one time surged through him. Ghosts were vital to a Guardian's survival – the latter themselves could take anything, but only so long as their connection to their ghost (and thus their connection to the Light) was unfettered. Without thinking, he tapped into the fireteam chat. "Karen, Al, something's wrong with Vân-"

He couldn't breathe.

Hand cannon clattering to the ground, Sephonis' body quickly joined it, gasping for breath as the rest of fireteam Attica shouted over the chat, demanding to know what was going on. Unable to answer their increasingly desperate pleas, he curled up in agony – feeling suspiciously like he'd been marked by one of those Oracles. He suddenly recalled one of Al-Jhada's musings when they first encountered the things:

 _"'Those things warp reality, but it looks like they need a medium with which to make those changes through'"_ His dread grew. _"Like Vântoase, for instance."_

His panic grew to unadulterated terror at the implications, and yet it wasn't enough to move his body – pain had left it paralysed, sensory receptors in his skin and armour unable to detect anything else. Something was moving from his core to his skin, eating and changing and roaring-

His last conscious thoughts were pleas for release.

* * *

Ne should have seen the trap coming.

Vântoase was a fool in disregarding the advice that was meant for both nemself and nir's Guardian - disregarding the potential danger posed by the Vex artefact recovered from the Vault of Glass. Already ne knew that ne's fight was hopeless, since ne could already feel Vex corrupting it and severing ne's connection to the Light, for some malicious purpose that only the Vex could come up with.

Sephonis lay nearby in agony. The Vex were acting on him through Vântoase, taking his Light and consuming it to make way for their own cells; already ne could tell they were replacing his flesh and blood with metal and fluid.

There wasn't much time.

 _Ą̧̧͘ş̵̨̀͏s̴̛͠҉i̶҉҉̵ǵ̨̡́n̵̶̶̡i̷̡͞ń͢͜͠g̕͏̴̛͟ ̧͟d̨̢͜͠͞i̡͞҉ŗ̵͜͠͞e̵̢̡̕҉ç̸͟ţ̶͠í҉v́҉̴e̴̷͝:́͏͝ ̨͘F̶̛͜҉ì͟ņ̸̵͟͜d҉͟ ̛͘̕ţ̢͝h̡͠é̶̢͝͡ ̢̡͏̵͞L̛͘͘͟͟i͡g̷̢̡̡h̸͜͏҉t̕̕.̶̢̢́ ̶̡Į̷͘͜n̴͞f̸͘͜è͢͝ç̢͘͏̸t̷́͠͡ ̛͘͝í̶̢̕͢t̷̷̷̛͟.́̀ ̕͢O͘͡p̀͞é͠n҉̧̀͜ ͞t҉̢͟͟͝ḩ̴͢è̷̷͢͟ ̶҉͝͞L̨̀͞i̵̛̕͝͠v̶̛̕͟͠ì̵̀͜͝ǹ̸͡ģ̸̨ ̡҉͘C̶̡̛̀͟ó̸̧̀͠n̛͘͠f̵̨̨́̀l̕͘͢͡u҉́x͏̷̛̕̕.̨̡͝͡_

Ne paused. That was- yes, the Vex Collective Mind assigned that directive, likely to Sephonis. Why did it speak differently compared to other- never mind that. Whatever the eldritch intelligence had planned, it had to be something that would end the City; end the Traveller. Normally, most Ghosts would not try to interfere with the Vex's central command structure – something only a Warmind would have a chance of accomplishing.

But most Ghosts weren't hidden within the Vex Network like Vântoase was, and even though it was too late to help Sephonis, there was still time to help the City.

Ne didn't waste any time and dashed into the Vex forming from Sephonis' body, searching through its freshly-converted mind core for the directive. Much like the floating platforms in the Vault of Glass, segments of the database within sprung up from nowhere, already filled with Vex filing about and sorting the information inside. Given the Vex's chaotic architecture, the ghost reasoned that the mind core would probably be a mess, so finding the directive would be difficult and consuming of time that was unavailable.

Perhaps a query would help? Ne had no other option. "Excuse me, but could one of you please help me find the directive?"

The Vex drones whizzed around, apparently ignorant of Vântoase's presence.

Ne tried again. "Um, hello? I have a query about the directive, if you could please help?"

Still no response. Ne realised that the Vex burrowing into nir shell earlier must be having an effect on ne, making the drones think ne was one of them. Perhaps, then, speaking in their format would get their attention? Query?Request?Enquiry

A Vex drone stopped and instantly zipped in front of Vântoase, waiting patiently.

Vântoase paused, gathering its thoughts; it hadn't noticed the increasing difficulty with which it had to do so. Peruse|Analyse|Directive

The Vex architecture around Vântoase and the drone shifted, an unassuming block of Vex metal coming to a stop beside them. Before Vântoase could offer thanks – why was ne going to thank a mindless Vex construct? – the drone vanished, leaving the Ghost to its devices. Wasting no more precious time, it parsed its way through – did they not encrypt Vex mind cores this deep in their mindscapes? – and quickly identified the directive.

Intruder|Repulse|Subsume; something had found ne; no more time. _"Ok, throw in an extra command here, mask them in Axis codifiers… done."_ Ne hid nemself away amidst some drones, and started composing a farewell to Fireteam Normandy-

 _"Light? Light, yes, that's what he needed to find."_

Vântoase froze. Was that-? It listened carefully, and realized that Sephonis – or maybe a ghost of Sephonis, a fragment left behind by the Collective Mind – was rambling to himself about a directive. With a start, it remembered the directive ne had modified, and narrowed ne's focus on the lost Hunter's mutterings. Its heart broke further and further as he tried to recall his identity, his purpose; the thought of ne's Guardian being so broken was a horrific vision it had resolutely ignored throughout its service to Sephonis, yet now ne was forced to bear witness to it firsthand.

Time was shifting around them. _"Where are they sending us?"_

They were in a dark space; Vântoase could make out vex stone and metal, drones coursing through them. The Vex unit seemed to move of its own volition, approaching the sounds of a battle. Vântoase did not need to wonder where it had heard those roars before, nor time to think about what weapons produced such sounds upon use.

Ne already knew where and when it was.

So it was of no surprise when the Vex unit left the cave and came face to face with Sephonis, noticing the Ghost hanging near his shoulder.

 _"Ok, ok, got it. So… I walk up to the Light and give this thing to it?"_

"Basically, yes." It did not need to speak, and realised that it was no longer referring to itself as it once did; the Vex had nearly claimed it. It also occurred to it that it no longer minded.

 _"I have no idea where that voice came from. I'm going to- its host is shooting at me. I'm coming undone."_

Its heart wrenched. Even being lost to the Vex could not end its loyalty to the Guardian. " _Keep going, you just have to-" _Çǫ̴͝ḿ̶̷̢̡p̵̷̡ĺ͘͏e͡҉t҉̸̛͝è̷̡͘ ́̕͟y͟ò̸́u̧͡r͜҉̕͢͠ ̸͞͝͠d̸̵̀͜i̛͞ŕ̨͞͠è̵̕ç̷̀t̨̛͝i̶͠v̡̢̡̀͞e̸͏̛̕͡.̷̴̧̛_ "…keep going, you've almost done it just a lit-"_

The unit fell. What remained of Sephonis tried apologizing. All the while, what remained of Vântoase tried to reassure the fragment as the Collective Mind ran diagnostics on them.

 _̨̢͝͞Ę͘ŗ̧r̶͜͢͜͠o̶͟r̵͏̨̕:̸́͏͜͡ ͜͞U͏҉̸n̨͢i̴̷̕͜͠t͜͞͠ ̧̨́͘À̡͟͡-̕͟͜G͞͏҉̨-̴͢͏0̀͞0̢̨̛͘0̵0̶̀͜1̨ ́̕m̶̶í͘n̡͘͜͠͝d̷̛͜c̵̡͠o͘͡͞ŕ̵̸̡͝ę̨̀͢ ͏̶ḩ̀͟͞͞a̢͏̸̨͡s̢͞ ͢͜b̢͢͜ȩ̷̧́e̡̧̧͝n̡̕ ̷̢͝͡ç̷͠ǫ̶͜m̨̕͠͡͏p̴̨r҉̶o̵̕m̴̨̨̡i͜͝s̸̡̨͠è̶̸̢̕d̛͟.̶̵̛͘ ͘Ù́n͢i͟҉̡͝t͏̡ ́͠͞͝À̴̵̧͘-̛̀҉͜͟G̛͜-͏̀0͠0̷̡̧͡͡0͢0̶́́͢͠1҉ ̴̀͟͢t̸́̀ȩ̢̡̢͜m̧̧̨p͏̷o̶̴r̵͘a͝͡҉̴͠l̵ ̸̨r̴̷̢͜҉è̴͜͢f̨͘͟o̵r̕͢͡͝m̵̶͟͝ą̨͜t҉͟͢͝t͏̴͟͝i̷̛͢͠ǹ̵g̛̀͢͞͡ ̢҉́͠a̶̢͢u̴̢͠t̴̡̀͢͟ḩ̶͢͠o̧̕͘͜ŕ̸i̛͢͡͝͞s҉̵҉e̴̛ḑ͡͏.̸̛͟͞_

 _"No, wait, please don't, I'm sca-" "Shh, shh, it's okay, I'll-"_

* * *

"And your Hidden have heard nothing else?"

Ikora Rey nodded. "Unfortunately, it appears that this Hunter has disappeared; if his Ghost truly vanished with him as his fireteam claimed, then we can only assume the worst."

Cayde-6 brooded in silence, twirling his knife down his fingers before flipping it back and starting over. He never took the loss of a Hunter well – he may hate his job, but he never let that get in the way of his responsibilities, which included the only part of the job he took with absolute seriousness: looking after his Hunters. She'd probably have to have a word with him once the meeting was over.

Zavala's stare remained levelled at her, perhaps waiting for her to continue, before pursing his lips, apparently dropping the question in his eyes. "Very well; I'm instituting new protocol. In the event of anomalous objects being recovered from the Vault of Glass, Guardians are to turn them in to the Crypta Secratorum upon return to the Tower, then proceed to the Infirmaria immediately for diagnosis of any deviations in physical and mental health."

"Storing Vex curios in the Crypta Secratorum, with all the other forbidden artefacts kept under lock and key? Zavala, I understand your caution, but at least permit high-ranking Warlocks the chance to study them in isolation-"

"Hunters'll never listen to you if you don't give 'em some incentive." Cayde interjected. "I reckon you should give out glimmer and rep to Guardians who come back with creepy knick-knacks, and not just from the Vault; that'll make sure no Hunter tries sneaking things out from under your noses. They'll even look for those stupid things and hand them over to you stuffy bookworms, so it's win-win."

Zavala and Ikora stopped, considering Cayde's advice; it was the first time he had spoken since the subject at hand was brought up. With an exasperated sigh Zavala turned to the Exo. "Fine, I shall discuss potential rewards with the merchants later, but it will be nothing that cannot be replaced; Ikora, I will consider your request. If neither of you have anything else to say, I shall speak to Xander 99-40 about posting bounties for your 'curios'." With his last statement, Zavala briskly paced out of the Hall, leaving Cayde and Ikora to themselves. Cayde sheathed his knife and walked over to his corner at the window overlooking the mountains beyond the City; Ikora stayed where she was, recognising the signs of his inconsolable mood.

She resolved to broach the topic to him after he'd cleared his thoughts; for now, reflecting on recent events within and without the Tower would help clear her mind.


End file.
